Smart Home Now, Smart Office Tomorrow!

Who has never forgotten, or thought he forgot to turn the lights off in his living room, after leaving for work? Today, if you decide to invest in smart technology and the IOT, this becomes a problem of yesterday.

I recently equipped my small cottage-like house in NE Portland with a few “à la mode” devices, that are supposed to make my life a bit easier – guess what? They really do! Being able to turn on my favorite playlist with my voice, when my coffee machine is automatically brewing a fresh pot of coffee triggered to start just after my alarm rings and my lights get automatically turned on in the morning, is becoming a luxurious automation that to be honest, I do not want to give up.

What if all these cool IOT gadgets could sneak into your workplace?

Many tools exist so you can actually already integrate IOT technology into your office setting. Leading the charge is Amazon Web Services (AWS) who are openly trying to conquer the connected enterprise market. They released information that they are partnering with iOLAP to extend Alexa’s enterprise capabilities to expand into security, analysis and data aggregation. Now you can use Alexa to not only do things like turn your lights off after forgetting them when you left the office in a rush because you wanted to avoid the crazier and crazier Portland traffic, but also send IT notifications, order supplies, start your conference calls, lock down a meeting room... and of course this is just the beginning.

Even though as GRAYBOX’s QA practice lead I know this might mean more potential devices to test, more investment of time and budget, and more intricate integrations for us, this is still extremely exciting. Additionally, with the initial progress AWS has already demonstrated, I can’t wait to see their competitors’ responses.